Beyond the Stage
by Shadow0Fire
Summary: A collcetion of non-canonical one-shots focused primarily on the roster of KOF13, that explores not only the lives of the fighters off of the field, but also the "what-ifs?" of the KOF series. This collection of short stories stretches over the categories of humor, romance, tragedy, and parody, and revolves around events focused on two main charcaters at a time. T for suggestive.
1. K' x Kula

**This is the first of many, so be prepared! From now on, there will be a short summary of the chapter up here. (Because the chapter may not be about characters you like, or you may not care for the premise of the chapter, yeah?) Also, since this is just a collection of one-shots, don't expect each chapter to be too terribly long (1000-2000 generally, give or take) but since they are pretty short, you can expect regular updates for as long as I can think of something to write about (I've already got 6-8 chapters in the wings).**

**Kula x K'**

**Kula comes down with a fever, and K' takes it upon himself to watch over the girl while she rests. However, the fever has a strange effect on the princess, and she starts to act a little delirious...**

* * *

Maxima, finished with his short foray to the market, walked through the scrapyard that hid the ex-NESTS fugitives from prying eyes with quaking steps. Normally, he wouldn't be the one to do the shopping around here, but K' had decided to stay and watch over a resting Kula and leave the acquisition of twenty pounds of sherbert ice cream to the cyborg.

The poor princess had come down with a terrible fever yesterday, and in the time she wasn't sleeping, she was downright miserable. Naturally, to someone who hated heat and similar things, a fever had more of an effect on Kula that it would on most anyone else. Maxima was hoping that all this ice cream would at least brighten her up a little bit; despite his aversion to being called Uncle by Kula, he had to admit that he had a certain feeling of protection over the girl while she was in this state. He wasn't really sure if K' felt the same, but hopefully the unsociable man had been a little nicer to his shorter comrade, even if it was just this once.

Nearing the end of his trek through the scrapyard, Maxima came to the door that lead to the underground area he and his two allies currently called home. Normally, one would have trouble opening the large metal doors while carrying two extra large size buckets of ice cream, but Maxima had no lack of strength, especially when the extent of the strength needed was to carry ice cream. He pushed open the rusty iron doors, and began to make his descent into the underground area.

During his descent down an unfortunately long flight of stairs, Maxima once again fretted over how K' and Kula had fared in his absence. He knew both of them were good for fighting, but beyond that, he really only viewed himself as reliable concerning day-to-day matters. He was really just worried that K' had ditched Kula in her room and gone to take a nap somewhere. His calculations involving the current situation and K's nature showed that such a thing had a 71.4% chance of occurring. Thankfully, Maxima had learned long ago that calculations were not to be trusted fully, since there were no absolutes in this world. But even so, that was still a remarkably high percentage... honestly, Maxima would be very disappointed if he found out that K' cared so little for Kula. But he was entertaining an idea he had no knowledge of yet. He'd find out how things had gone when he got to the bottom of these God-forsaken stairs.

Although it felt like longer, Maxima's computerized mind calculated that it only took two minutes and forty-two seconds to reach the bottom of the flight. He kept telling himself that he would fix the service elevator, but he always got distracted... storing that comment elsewhere in his mind for later retrieval, Maxima decided that he should get all of this ice cream to Kula as soon as possible.

Making his way through the vast, abandoned building in the scrapyard, Maxima came to the door to the room Kula claimed as her own in no time. He was about to knock on the door when he heard something that scrambled his logical sensors in many, many ways.

"Ahh! K', it's so hot! So hot inside of me!"

Normally, Maxima would have taken time to logically think this out, but at this very moment, he was a little too stunned to think logically. He practically kicked down the door, and started expressing his disappointment before he even made a visual assessment of the room.

"K', I can't believe you would take advantage of Kula at a time...like...this...oh."

Now bearing witness to the reality of the situation before him, Maxima realized how foolish his assumption was. As if K' would ever do that... Maxima wasn't even sure the man had a sexual drive. Luckily, the only sight before him was K' reclining in one of the trio's salvaged chairs, as he watched a squirming and uncomfortable bedridden Kula through his trademark sunglasses. The poor girl was writhing in discomfort as she experienced her first illness of this type.

K' cast a sideways glance at Maxima. "...If I could see the internet history in that brain of yours, I bet it'd all be deleted. You should stop watching that stuff, Maxima. It's an abuse of power. Or at least that's what that Kim guy would say. Or maybe the psychic sailor brat."

Maxima scowled. "I did not come to that conclusion because of what I watch K'. Even you have to admit Kula's exclamation sounded... suggestive, at the very least."

"Aunty! You look reallly pretty today!"

Maxima cast a glance of confusion at the young girl between himself and K', but the white-haired man seemed completely unfazed by the strange remark. "She's been saying things like that all day. Maybe the fever's frying her brain. Not that there was much to fry anyway..."

"You're lucky she's out of it right now. She just might have turned you into a popsicle. You know how she loves popsicles; which means she would love you mo-"

K' cut him off, but there wasn't a hint of any emotion in it. "Did you get the ice cream or what?"

Maxima rolled his eyes. "Yes, I did. I have no idea how one person could stomach this much sherbert..."

Another cry from Kula cut off the two men. "Ahn! Take it off, take it off! It's hot, take it off!"

Both of the two males were confused for a second. But Kula made the point clear by clawing at her top. Maxima stopped the girl from exposing herself in front of two men by grabbing her arms. "You really can't do that Kula. You can unzip it a bit, but nothing beyond that."

It didn't look like she understood. Maybe this illness was more than a regular fever? Since there was no response, Maxima proceeded to employ his suggestion. K' made sure to avert his eyes, although he did an excellent job of making it look like he was stretching his neck.

Finished stripping Kula as much as he could while preserving her modesty, Maxima turned to K'. "I'll stay here, K'. I'm sure you're sick of watching over her by now. I'll take care of things."

A moment of silence followed, which was already more that Maxima expected K' to give. "...that won't be necessary. I'll stay."

Now this was... surprising. Maxima grinned slyly. "Oh really? I wonder why you would-"

"Don't you have an elevator to fix?"

Maxima decided to silence himself there, despite how much he would like to pester K' about his decision. "Alright then. Just make sure you put a blanket on her when she falls asleep again; although fevers make your body feel hot, in actuality-"

"I know how fevers work, Maxima. Get lost already."

Smiling to himself, Maxima made a quick exit. He made double sure to catalogue this data for future reference.

Back in the room, Kula was already drifting off into a fitful slumber. But not before she struggled through her pain in order to grab K's hand. As soon as she accomplished that, she was out like a light. K' had the strong urge to free himself of Kula's grasp now that she was asleep, but something he couldn't quite recognize kept him from doing so. He followed Maxima's advice and proceeded to cover the young girl with the blanket from her bed, careful not to do anything that might wake her. Finished with that, K' resumed his lounging in the chair beside the bed, although he now grasped Kula's burning hot hand as he did so. Taking in this whole stupid situation, he couldn't help but grumble to himself.

"Hurry up and get better... Kula. I just want to take nap..."

* * *

**Short and sweet and to the point! That's probably how most of these shorts will be. (Of course, some will be angst and sadness and stuff too, and others will be humorous, but you get the point.)**

**Anyway, if anyone has an idea for something, let me know! I'll keep writing these as long as I have ideas, but you know, no straight up rated M stuff or anything...**


	2. Botan x Kim

**Kim x Botan**

**Not all chapters need an author's note, but considering the two characters here, I think this one definitely does! Now, no worries, there isn't going to be a romance in this chapter (As I do believe Kim is married, right?) but there can be more of that later, with K' and Kula, of course. (A lot of people seem to be a fan of that pairing)**

**Needless to say, Botan might be a bit out of character here. Well, maybe will be out of character is a little more appropriate. But hey, Fan fiction, what are you gonna do?**

* * *

The city she stood in was full of energy. The crowds milled about the streets, focused on their respective goals. Some groups were on their way to and from work, depending on what shift they had. Others were young teens on dates, intent on finding a cinema or restaurant for some bonding time. A few were just townspeople out for a walk or jog, as they took advantage of the sunny day and cool breeze.

But no matter what all of these people were doing, they all one thing in common. It wasn't something they could connect over, or even understand. But regardless, they all shared it. Each and every one of them was oblivious to Botan's plight.

She stood still, amidst the bustling crowds, lost, and alone. Saiki was gone; her master had been defeated. Without being able to serve him, Botan was at a loss. What did she do? Where did she go? Mukai was gone as well. All of Saiki's followers had scattered after his defeat, and Botan was left alone, without anything to follow.

She was unaccustomed to the feelings of loneliness and sorrow. Such things were only meant for the weak. But even so, there was nothing Botan could do about the emotions within her, as the busy people of the city failed to acknowledge her presence at all.

She berated herself for feeling such foolish emotions. Loneliness… was not something that should have affected her. She wasn't supposed to feel sorrow, or despair, or any such thing. She felt like some stupid teen girl who had just been rejected by her boyfriend. And she didn't know why! Why was she experiencing these things?! They were such useless feelings! Stupid…emotions…

"I figured I would find you like this."

What had been said could have been a comment made by any of the surrounding crowd. But somehow, Botan knew the remark had been directed at her. She turned to face the owner of the voice, wondering who could or would have decided to speak to her.

A few feet away, with his gaze clearly planted on Botan, was Master Kim, legend of the Tae Kwon Do world. This city was quite far from his home, so his presence here meant that he must have sought her out specifically. But considering their respective natures, chances were that it wasn't for anything good.

"Hmph. Master Kim… starting a new quest to purge the rest of Saiki's followers, I presume? Being a champion of righteousness and all."

Kim seemed slightly amused by that title, but even more so by Botan's assumption of his purpose. "The path of the righteous does not include exterminating wrongdoers. Something that I am sure Hwa and Raiden are thankful for. I am here for the same reason I sought out those two."

"Heh… you can't be serious. You're here to try and reform me? Turn me into one of your fanatical devotees to light and good and all of that garbage? However, I'm touched that you came all the way out here to tell me a joke."

Kim folded his arms over his white polo shirt. It was strange seeing him in something other than his Gi. "You may laugh if you wish… but I know you are lost. Let me help you."

Botan knew what the legendary master was getting at, but she tried to evade it anyway. "Then I'll find a map. I don't need your help for that!"

"You're lonely, aren't you? I can see it in your very demeanor. There's no need to be ashamed of it."

Kim was right on target, but Botan still wasn't able to admit it. "I am not! And even if I were foolish enough to feel such petty emotions, how would joining your cult of do-gooders help in any way?!"

"The path of the righteous is full of comradeship and compassion. Is that not what you are looking for, Botan?"

"No. Not like that…"

Kim looked disheartened, but not defeated. Yet, unlike how Botan predicted, Kim did not push. He instead offered words of farewell before turning heel to walk away.

"I…see. I am sorry that you feel that way. But should you ever change your mind, we will always be ready to accept you. I hope you fare well on your travels…"

...

"I'm not wearing one!"

At first, Kim was unsure of what Botan's outburst meant. "…what?"

Botan stared at the ground in frustration. She couldn't believe she was doing this. "If I come with you… I'm not wearing a Gi! Under any circumstances!"

Kim couldn't believe he was hearing this. Of course, that didn't do anything to dampen his enthusiasm. He was always glad when someone accepted his invitation to join the path of the righteous. Nevertheless, one had to wear a Gi in order to be fully righteous. That was why Hwa and Raiden never made it as far as Chang and Choi.

"But the Gi is the incarnate form of righteousness! Surely you'll want to wear it-"

"Do you want me to come along or not?"

Kim was reluctant to accept another student who refused to wear a Gi, but he was amazed that Botan had accepted in the first place… but he still had to compromise!

"Can I at least convince you to wear longer shorts? And perhaps a more modest top as well…?"

"You're really pushing it, Kim."

Kim figured he would convert Botan to a more modest approach later in her reformation. At least she wasn't as bad as Mai…

"Ah…yes. Alright then! No need for you to change, except in terms of righteousness! And of course you'll have to learn-"

"I'm not learning Tae Kwon Do."

Kim sighed. Botan's reformation was going to take far longer than he had expected. Still, he was somewhat pleased that she had agreed to come with him at all.

"Alright, fine. I don't know why anyone would _not _want to learn Tae Kwon Do, but I'm sure you'll come around eventually. Now, if you are truly set on joining the path of the righteous, we have a plane to catch!"

"I'm not paying for the ticket either. I'm only going to try this for a week, and if it doesn't work by then, I'm gone. So you're paying for this."

Kim's heart fell as he imagined a huge hole opening up in his wallet. Sure, he had plenty of money from his lessons and all, but his wife restricted his monthly spending money so that he would be frugal with his wealth. He merely told himself that bringing hope to the lost was worth… roughly seven hundred dollars. Now Kim felt compelled to give Hwa and Raiden more credit. Despite all of their complaining, those two had been far more cooperative than this.

Still, the path of the righteous was about to gain another unexpected member, and that was enough to lighten Kim's spirits. And although there was no way of knowing, he was sure it would eventually lighten Botan's as well.

* * *

**Looks like I totally forgot to leave a note down here earlier, and obviously, no chapter is complete without one!**


	3. Ash x Elisabeth

**Ash x Elisabeth**

**If Ash had manged to separate himself from Saiki, and toss his ancestor back into the gate before it closed, therefore preserving himself; how would things have panned out between he and Elisabeth?**

* * *

Ash Crimson stood on top of a grassy hill that overlooked Elisabeth's residence with two of his old comrades. It was a grand mansion; one that Ash had never planned on returning to. "I can't believe I'm doing this..."

Shen Woo clapped the French man on the back. "Come on man, God knows she's the only girl you'll ever have a chance with! I mean, everyone else already thinks you're a girl when they first see you..."

A little burst of green flame was enough to silence the man. "Seeing how you two are now colleagues with Betty, I can't possibly imagine how this is _not _a bad idea."

Shen put on the most sinister smile Ash had ever seen; excluding Saiki, of course. "Aw, come on, don't you trust us?"

Ash looked over his other shoulder to look at Duo Lon and his neutral features. "I trust Duo Lon far more than you, Shen."

"Ouch. Well fine then, since you trust him so much, let Mr. Bendy-Straws here explain it!"

That nickname garnered a miniscule amount of irritation from the Hizoku assassin. "Don't call me that. Anyway, Ms. Elisabeth will most likely have one of two reactions when she sees you, Ash. One, she will be very happy, and hug you, and cry, and tell you how much she missed you, and you'd better feel guilty, because if you don't, Shen and I will have to hurt you."

Ash twirled the longest lock of his blonde hair. "Right... and what is option two?"

Duo Lon maintained his neutral expression. "Two, she will be ferociously livid and beat you to pulp. In which case it will be our job to feel guilty for bringing you here."

"You two have gotten awfully close with Betty, yeah?"

Shen shrugged. "Maybe. Why, jealous?"

"Pfft. No way. Betty is way too uptight to hang around on a regular basis."

Duo Lon cocked an eyebrow at Ash. "I hope you abstain from making that remark when you first see her, or you might as well just bring option two on yourself."

Shen elbowed Duo Lon. "Quiet, Bendy-Straws, here she comes!"

The trio watched as Elisabeth's personal car drove up to the mansion. It parked in front of it, and Jacques, Elisabeth's butler, aided his lady in getting out of the car. It didn't seem like Ash's old companion had spotted him yet. Unfortuantely, Shen was in the mood to remedy that situation as soon as possible.

"Hey, Elisabeth! Look who's here to see you!"

His loud shouts caught the attention of the person he wanted, but Elisabeth, as she raised her eyes to give Shen an irritated look, only focused on the one person she hadn't expected to be there. "A-Ash?"

Ash did his little customary wave. "Hey, Betty. Long time-"

"Ash!"

Elisabeth began running up the small hill that separated her from Ash, who just smiled and waved, while making a quiet comment to Duo Lon and Shen. "Looks like option one, huh?"

Duo lon gave a very, very slight grin. "Don't be so sure..."

Ash retruned his attention to Elisabeth, but he wasn't feeling so confident now. "Is it just me, or is Betty looking slightly angrier with every step she takes?"

True enough, Elisabeth's face was slowly transforming into an unbridled storm of anger. "ASH!"

"...oh Merde..."

Shen thumped his French compatriot on the back. "Run dude. Run fast, run far."

Ash wasted no time in heeding Shen's advice, and he turned and ran back down the other side of the hill, away from Elisabeth's approaching onslaught. Shen and Duo Lon satyed right where they were, and said woman blew past them as she withdrew her signature riding crop.

Shen waited until she was out of earshot, which didn't take long at the speed she was going. "Ten bucks says she'll kill him with that thing."

Duo Lon's grin grew slightly wider. "Half-dead with a broken nose and a huge bruise on his face."

"Ow, Betty, stop! Ow, hey! Ow, ow, Betty! Cut it out! Whoa! Stop it already!"

Shen let out a little chuckle. "Well, I still owe him a fist to the face too. but eh...I'll let her handle that. Either way, you're on."

* * *

"I can't believe you tried to forget the mission! Of all the things you could have done..."

Ash sat in one of the Blanchorte mansion's many comfortable and expensive lounge chairs, with his head propped against his hand. He was supposed to be listening to Elisabeth rant, but his focus was directed more towards the various welts and bruises he now had thanks to Betty's beating. That being said, Ash barely heard anything Elisabeth was saying.

"...and more than anything, you hurt me the most!"

Despite Ash's lack of focus, those words registered quite easily. He finally decided to actually direct his gaze towards Elisabeth.

"...did I? I guess I never... no. I guess I always knew. I knew you were hurting because of me. But I pushed that thought away whenever it surfaced. I'm sorr-"

"Do you think sorry changes anything!?"

Ash was startled by the sudden outburst. Elisabeth had emotions just like anyone else, but she rarely showed them so passionately.

"Do you think sorry just erases everything? Ten years Ash... an entire decade! I was suffering that whole time, and not because your personal goals were more important than our mission! I suffered because... your goals were more important... than me..."

Ash very rarely felt guilty about anything, but Elisabeth was doing a very fine job of making him feel that way now. He knew it would be hard to mend his relationship with Betty after all of this... but he would definitely try. She was one of the few people in this world that genuiely cared for Ash... and one of the few people Ash genuinely cared about.

Although Ash's resolve to go through with this recovery process was solid, he was also glad that neither Shen or Duo Lon would be able to witness it. They would never let him live it down.

Before Elisabeth could burst out in tears or anything, (Or smack Ash in the head again) she found herself encompassed in Ash's embrace.

"...this doesn't make things better either, Ash."

"I know that Betty. I know. Nothing will ever really make up for it, right? But I'll still try."

Elisabeth thought that Ash's words were sincere, but she still felt like testing him.

"You're usually so apathetic about other people's emotions."

"You're not just another person, Elisabeth. Not to me."

He used her full name... almost everyone did that, but never Ash. Not unless he was deathly serious. Not unless he was being truly honest with her. Elisabeth stayed silent as Ash continued.

"I know you'll find it hard to forgive me. If you never do, I'll understand. But I want you to know that I'll do everything in my power to make it up to you. Anything and everything that I can..."

Elisabeth allowed herself a somber smile, and finally reciprocated Ash's embrace by wrapping her arms around him as well.

"Well... as far as making it up to me goes... I guess this is a pretty good start."

* * *

**Alright, next we'll have another K' and Kula chapter, and then one for Mai, and perhaps a Kensou and Athena chapter... Anyway, if anyone has an idea for a short of their own, feel free to tell me! As soon as I'm done writing all of my pre-planned ideas, I move onto reader ideas.**

**Also, a thanks to Kein Sylvan and zzk'zz for giving me their feedback. I always appreciate the reader who takes the time to give the author his/her opinion. Another update in a week or so!**


	4. Mai

**And now for our first Mai short, who I know is a big favorite in the KOF fandom. There might also be another character from some other series here, but he'll only be appreciated by the people who know him…**

**Anyway, Mai is kind of by herself here, in terms of pairings. She's with two other well-known KOF fighters, but they aren't a main focus of this short. And trust me, it is SUPER short. Probably the shortest one so far. Comedy shorts are likely to be shorter than angst or romance stuff.**

**Mai**

* * *

The Women Fighters team of KOF 13 pushed their way through the crowds of people that clogged the streets of the city. Their flight had been a little late, and now they had to fight through every sightseer on their way to the stadium for the most recent KOF tournament.

Mai Shiranui took point for the team, shoving pedestrians aside as they blocked her path, followed by apologies from Yuri and King behind her.

"Sorry!"

"Please forgive her sir; she's a little uncouth…"

"Sorry- oh hey, I love your jeans!"

Mai used her ninja acrobatic skills to leap over an especially large man. "C'mon people, V.I.P's coming through! Move out of the way!"

King peeked through the crowds to see their self-proclaimed leader getting ahead of them. "She's so rude… no wonder Andy gets so nervous about her…"

Yuri stopped to rest beside her teammate. "Whew… we don't even have to be there for another hour or two… sheesh. She's gonna cause an accident or something."

Mai didn't hear any of this, as she had already pulled ahead of her teammates. She kept ducking, hopping, and shoving through the crowd in order to reach the stadium before her beloved fiancée (and more importantly, her fans) did. It wouldn't look good for a fighter of her reputation to be late to something so important.

However, her continuous advance through the people of the city was stopped short when a strong arm caught hold of her bare arm.

Mai turned to face an Oriental man in a uniform that appeared to be of a law enforcement nature. That notion was reinforced by the obvious badge on the man's shirt.

"What? I really need to get going! I can't afford any delays right now!"

The officer had jet black hair that was long enough to be bound into a sort of ponytail, and it wagged as the man cocked his head at Mai.

"Work with me and I'll make this short as possible. My name is Officer Wulong. I'm not a cop from around here, and usually I wouldn't bother with something like this…"

"Then why are you?"

"Well, I really have to do this since there isn't anyone else around. Here."

Officer Wulong handed a slip of paper to the divinely beautiful ninja. And it wasn't too pleasing of a thing to receive.

"A ticket?! For what!?"

"Indecent exposure."

"Inde-What?!"

"Less than forty percent of your body is covered ma'am. I really can't let that slide."

Mai checked the ticket for the fine. One hundred dollars seemed like a bit much. "Do you know who I am? You can't give me this!"

"I'm sorry ma'am, but cosplaying is not a valid excuse…"

"C-cosplaying!? This outfit is a sacred kunoichi uniform passed on from my ancestors-!"

"Your ancestors must've had a lot of children, showing off like that. But I don't think the parents appreciate it."

"You've got to be kidding me!"

King and Yuri finally caught up to Mai, but they blew past her when they saw the situation she was in.

"See you Mai! Don't be late for the tournament!"

"H-hey! Guys! Don't just leave me here! Traitors!"

Unfortunately for Mai, the whole fiasco turned into quite the spectacle, and by the time she had reached the stadium, most of the KOF world had seen the headline 'Beautiful Buxom Warrior Refuses to Hide Her Bosom.'

And of course Joe Higashi had seen it. And that undoubtedly meant that Andy would hear about it. Which meant Terry would hear about it, and Mary would hear about it, and…

* * *

**Poor Mai. I guess Kim's words of wisdom about decency came back to haunt her. She should've worn that Tae Kwon Do Gi. Despite the fact that we all love watching her boobs swing because of some illogical law of physics in the game.**


	5. Kula x K'

**It occurred to me that I told everyone I was going to put summaries up here, but I seem to have forgotten that with the last few chapters. Anyway, I only have a few more of my own ideas at the moment, and I've gotten two suggestions from readers, so things might slow down soon until I get magically struck with more KOF ideas. Just keep that in mind!**

**K' x Kula**

**Kula's recovered from her fever, and she's a special idea for showing her appreciation to K'. Neither of her male teammates know what she's up to… but regardless, how will K' handle Kula's gratitude?**

* * *

"Is she still in her room? It's been nearly two days…"

Maxima, who was stealthily rummaging through Kula's stash of sweets, (he would refill it later, in order to escape the young girl's wrath) listened to K's question from the room over, where the man's favorite couch was.

"Why? Are you concerned for her?"

Maxima was interested in seeing how K' would deflect the question. Since Kula had recovered from her illness last week, the cyborg had found plenty of opportunities to rib K' over his behavior with Kula. Consequently, the flame-wielding slacker had become very skilled at negating them.

"The next KOF is coming soon, and since that brat has already gotten us involved with her stupid ice cream obsession, she should be out here training."

Maxima refrained from bringing up the fact that no one on this team ever trained. He would just let K' believe that the question had been answered satisfactorily. Of course, Maxima was interested in Kula's recent behavior as well. She wasn't the type of girl who liked to seclude herself, and the only time she had left her room in the past two days was to grab some ice cream every two hours.

But K' was either too lazy or just not concerned enough to check on her and Maxima respected her privacy enough to let her do what she wished. But even so, Kula wasn't the 'brightest' person around. It was slightly worrisome to imagine her running amok unsupervised for two days…

Suddenly there was a bang and the light patter of footsteps elsewhere in the K' Team's residence. Maxima stepped out into the main room in order to intercept Kula before she grabbed her sweets and ran off again. His computerized calculations allowed him to make the perfect maneuver to step out before Kula could get past him.

And indeed he did. Kula practically smashed into Maxima's solid frame. Fortunately, her forehead smacked into him before her fragile nose did. Kula tumbled backwards, and had more panic than pain visible on her face. Just before she hit the ground, she did that totally awesome yet really weird move where she freezes her hair. The pillar of ice it made stopped Kula from landing on her back, which seemed to be her goal.

Making her way back to her feet, she looked at Maxima irritably. "Uncle! You almost ruined a bunch of work! Like, a BUNCH! If I had fallen… I WOULD HAVE FROZEN YOU SOLID FOREVER!"

Using logical deduction, Maxima came to the conclusion that Kula had something behind her back that would have been damaged if she landed on it. And keeping it in perfect condition was clearly worth freezing her 'Uncle' over.

"My apologies, Kula. What is this 'bunch of work' you're so worried about?"

Kula, her hair having returned to its chestnut color, stuck her tongue out. "Nope, I can't tell you Uncle! It's a big secret!"

"A big secret for K', right?"

A slight blush crept into Kula's cheeks, but Maxima's sensors could tell that it wasn't a hormonal reaction. She was just embarrassed to be caught so easily.

"Yeah! He took such good care of me and all! And I know K' hates stuff like that… so it makes me happy that he tried! I hope he likes it…"

"Well you'll only find out if you give it to him. He's in his usual place."

Kula gave a small nod of acknowledgment and brushed past Maxima, heading for the main room. Unfortunately, Maxima was well aware that K' probably wouldn't receive Kula's gift in the manner she wanted him to.

Just to see how things would proceed, Maxima followed Kula into the central room, and stayed off to the side. As expected, K' was lounging around on his couch. Kula happily skipped up to the man and waited for him to notice her.

"… about time you got out of there."

"Why? Did you miss me?"

"No."

Maxima face palmed. Everyday made it more obvious that K' was not a charmer. Kula's cheeks puffed out in annoyance.

"You're so mean… and I came to give you a present and everything…"

"…I don't need it."

"I worked really hard on it!"

K' lolled his head to the side to look somewhere else besides Kula's pouting face. "I don't WANT it, either."

Maxima face palmed with his other hand. _Of all the things he could have said…_

Kula wasn't really one for over-reacting to things, but this seemed to be an exception. Her crimson eyes brimmed with tears, her lip quivered, and it was obvious that she would start crying any second. Even K' wasn't oblivious to his mistake.

"Kula, I didn't mean-!"

"I hate you!"

Maxima hadn't expected that reaction. And by the look on K's face, he hadn't either.

"Kula, that's not-"

"You're so stupid K'! I worked so hard to do something nice for you and you don't even care! You never care! You're such… such a…"

Maxima expected the word meanie head, or jerk at the very worst.

"Dumbass!"

With that, Kula dropped something large and blue onto the couch before she ran away from K' and no doubt either to her room or out of the scrapyard altogether. A few agonizingly slow minutes passed, and when Maxima finally spoke up, he tried to make light of the situation.

"See? I told you to watch your language around her. Now look what you've got her saying."

K' said nothing. He had picked up whatever Kula had left on the couch and way paying intense attention to it. Maxima couldn't see it from the angle he was at.

Without a word, K' rose up from his chair, unknown object still in hand and out of Maxima's sight. It was going to take a hell of a lot of work to fix this blunder, but for once, this was effort he didn't mind using.

Maxima already knew what he had planned, and he also knew that he couldn't come along. He might as well give him some helpful advice.

"You're probably going to find her at the ice cream shop."

"I could've figured that out."

"K'!"

"What?"

Maxima really hoped K' would actually take these words seriously.

"You'd better take responsibility for this."

"What does it look like I'm doing?"

Maxima rolled his cybernetically enhanced eyes. "That's not what I meant; when you apologize to her, you'd better no pin the blame on anyone but yourself. Girls hate it when you don't."

"How would you know that?"

"Almost married once, remember?"

"Right… hold down the fort, or something… I'll be back, hopefully before Diana or Foxy find out I made Kula cry…"

Even Maxima shivered a little bit as he thought of how angry those two would be… he was glad he didn't have any part of this. Still, as he watched K' leave, he was painfully curious as to what Kula's gift was. He'd just hold off that curiosity by finding some more snacks somewhere…

* * *

**And now I'm going to be a terrible and evil person by cutting it off here! How will K' mend this situation? Tender words will be unavoidable, but what will that lead to?**

**Anyway, Kula was slightly less childish here than she is in the game, but for the sake of a good story, I find it necessary.**

**I still have two more ideas of my own for now, so always feel free to drop your own!**


	6. Iori

**Iori x Mature x Vice**

**Not only is this not a continuation of the Kula x K' chapter previously, but it wasn't even my idea! A big thanks to Kein Sylvan for coming up with the idea for this chapter. And don't worry, after this intermission chapter, we'll get back to K' and Kula's relationship problems.**

**What if Iori made a different choice when he got his magatama back? What if the words of other fighters really did have an impact? And how would Mature and Vice take his decision to reject Orochi once and for all?**

* * *

Iori Yagami beheld the ghastly green magatama floating above the palm of his hand. This object would restore all of his powers… his flames. What that bastard Ash Crimson had taken from him. He could finally take back his flames, and be on even footing with Kyo once again. All it would take was a clutch of his hand to take back what was his.

_Have you thought that maybe losing your flames was a blessing in disguise? A chance to change your way of life?_

Words from the fighters he had defeated earlier in the tournament rang in Iori's ears. The voices of people like Chin Gentsai and Terry Bogard, who had spoken words that haunted his thoughts.

_Why don't you look back, Yagami? Surely there was a time before you met Kyo when you fought without hatred._

Iori wanted to bury these words; they gave him pause, even when he was so close to regaining his flames.

"Is something wrong, Yagami? Having second thoughts?"

Iori refused to answer Vice, the Orochi woman behind him. She and Mature had already told him what would happen if he accepted the magatama once again. Everything would revert back to the way it was. Not only his flames, but his feud with Kyo, and his blood contract with Orochi.

This was his one chance to cut off Orochi's connection with him. Ash Crimson would not be able to take the magatama from Iori again. He wasn't able to any longer. That meant that if Iori accepted the magatama again, he would never be separated from it like he was now. This was a monumental moment, for a man who rarely focused on anything other than his grudge with Kyo.

What was that grudge anyway? How had he and Kyo become enemies? Not for any reason concerning either of the two men. Honestly, Orochi just wanted to get rid of the Sword of Kusanagi, which was one of the three Sacred Treasures that bound it in its prison. That was all the feud between the two fighters was. Orochi using Iori to destroy Kyo in order to free itself.

Of course, all of these years of fighting with Kyo had created a powerful rivalry, regardless of Orochi's influence. Iori still wanted to defeat him; but not for the same reason Orochi wanted to.

Had he once fought without hatred? Had fighting once been something he had done as a passion? He couldn't remember something like that anymore. Before all of the insanity with the tournaments… that seemed like a lifetime ago. Too long ago and too vague to be recalled.

Either way, the more thought he put into this, the more doubtful Iori felt.

"So… what would you two do if I refused to accept this?"

It was Mature who answered his query.

"Is that a theoretical question, Yagami?"

"Just answer it."

"Hmm… I don't know. Obviously, someone won't be very happy about it…"

The reference to Orochi was obvious.

"So you want me to accept it, right?"

"Like we said; forget about that. What do YOU want, Iori Yagami?"

"…I want to destroy Kyo."

"Well then-"

"But not like this."

Without any warning, Iori dropped the glowing green magatama to the ground, and crushed it with his foot. He looked back just slightly to see how the two servants of Orochi would react. Mature had a frown on her face, but it seemed that she was more disappointed with the method than the decision itself.

"Well that might not have been necessary… that power could've have been useful later on."

"Hmph. Guess Orochi will have to find someone else to do its dirty work. That seal would've had to be destroyed eventually anyway."

"But it'll be much more difficult to destroy the Sword of Kusanagi without it."

"So are you going to take it out on me? If that's the case, let's get on with it already."

Iori turned completely to face the two women, convinced that they would be furious that he was betraying Orochi. But they weren't preparing for a fight. They actually looked slightly amused.

"That won't be necessary, Yagami. Whether or not you're doing it for Orochi, you're going after Kyo. We're sure you'll find a way to beat him even without the flames. Regardless of your reasons, if he gets destroyed, than Orochi is satisfied. That's good enough for us."

Seeing as Iori wasn't going to have to kill these two, he turned away from them, and began to walk in the direction of the moon.

"Where are you going so soon, Yagami?"

"Isn't it obvious? I have a score to settle."

"I see…"

"And one more thing."

"Hmm?"

Iori stopped walking, but didn't turn to face Mature and Vice.

"It's Yasakani. The name of Yagami no longer belongs to my bloodline."

Both Mature and Vice had slight smiles as they watched Iori leave. This was definitely an unforeseen outcome. They would definitely keep an eye on… Yasakani, if for no other reason than how interesting he had become.

* * *

Iori walked for hours, time spent coming to terms with the consequences of his actions. He still didn't regret it. He stopped briefly on some unknown street out in the city, and stared up at the moon.

"I'm coming for you, Kyo. I don't need Orochi to kill you. I will defeat you… with my own power!"

* * *

**So I think this is a pretty accurate inference of how things would go if Iori made this choice. I mean, I don't think he would drop his grudge with Kyo, even if he rejected Orochi at the end of KOF13. I also don't think Mature and Vice would try to stop him from making this decision, even if they were displeased with it. Anyway, thanks to my appreciated reader for coming up with this "What-If" installment of Beyond the Stage.**

**Our next chapter will get back to Kula and K's predicament, so look forward to it!**

**Oh, and a special thanks to SPoM (you know who you are) for giving me two good ideas for some angsty, sorrowful chapters. Look forward to seeing your idea used after I finish up with Kula and K'!**

**P.S., grammatical errors in previous chapters has been rectified.**


	7. Kensou x Athena

**Yeah, so it's been like, two weeks, but my summer's almost over, so I was trying to maximize my fun time. Anyway, regular updates will resume pretty soon; most likely when school starts back up. Boredom is the best motivation for writing in my book. I mean, what better place to write than in study hall or class free time?**

**Kensou x Athena**

**So Kensou and Athena have a one-on-one match at the KOF13 tournament, and Kensou decides to take the opportunity to clearly explain his feelings. The manner in which they are received is less than desirable. More like completely catastrophic.**

* * *

"Athena, I um… l-l-lo-"

"Please don't say that."

Kensou and Athena stood across from each other in England, preparing to fight each other in a special one-on-one match for KOFXIII. The two exchanged these words a few minutes before the match began, and thanks to the fanfare of the trumpets and the cheering of the crowds behind them, only the two Psycho Soldier members could hear each other.

"Don't say what? You don't even know what I was going to say!"

Athena uncomfortably shifted her eyes away from Kensou. "I know exactly what you were about to say. And I… I think it'd be better if you didn't."

Kensou cocked an eyebrow in confusion. Sure, Athena had a lot of psychic powers, but she couldn't read his mind. At least he was pretty sure she couldn't.

"N-no, Athena, I promise I'm not going to say anything about Nikumans or Master Chin's cellphone girlfriend. This is really important, trust me!"

"Kensou, please don't…"

Up until now, Kensou had been unable to muster up the courage to tell Athena his feelings for her. But for some reason, he felt unwaveringly determined to do it now. Every day he waited was a chance for his beloved to be snatched away by some other guy!

"Sorry Athena, but I have to say this now. I've been making up excuses for too long anyway! So I want you to know that I… I um… I-"

"Kensou, this isn't the time or pl-!"

"I-I love you! I… l-love you, Athena. I um… always have… or for a very long time… at least."

A long, terribly awkward silence ensued. It was kind of the exact opposite of what Kensou had hoped for, but maybe Athena throwing her arms around him and saying 'I love you too, Kensou!' was asking for too much.

"…I know."

Kensou was surprised to hear that.

"Y-you know? Or knew?"

"I knew. You didn't really keep it much of a secret."

"Wait… if you knew, why didn't you say anything?"

It took Athena a few moments to find the words she was looking for. But no matter how gently she broke the news, Kensou would be inevitably crushed.

"I didn't say anything because… I didn't want to hurt you. I was hoping you wouldn't tell me what you just did, so that things could go on like they always did. But…"

Kensou still wasn't getting the picture.

"Hurt me? What are you talking about? I would have been the opposite of hurt! It would've been amazing!"

Athena locked her eyes onto the boy across from her, but they were filled with nothing but pity.

"Kensou, I don't… I just… I don't feel that way about you. I don't love you like that."

What a cruel act of fate. Kensou could only stand in silence as his most precious dreams and goals fell to pieces like shattered glass. He couldn't even get any words past his lips. All he could do was listen to Athena continue.

"I mean, I still love you as a friend, Kensou. We've been allies for such a long time, and I wouldn't want anything to happen to you. But… I just don't really feel that way about… fans…"

Kensou wanted to say that he understood. That he was content to just be by Athena's side as a friend and teammate. But he wasn't. That wasn't enough for him. And the words he spoke reflected his bitterness.

"Is that all you think of me? As another swooning fan boy? Some infatuated teenager standing off of the stage, shouting the name of a girl he doesn't even know anything about just because she's pretty and popular?!"

Athena frowned a little bit.

"That's not what I said, Kensou. There's no need to raise your voice-"

"You just said that you don't feel that way about 'fans'! I've been fighting by your side for years, and I'm just a fan?! Do you honestly believe that my feelings are that shallow?!"

Athena was starting to look more and more agitated.

"No! I told you that I still love you as a friend! You mean more to me than you're saying! Just not in the way you want!"

Kensou was about to make another retort, but one of the tournament attendants stepped up to the two fighters.

"Excuse me sir, miss; the match is about to begin. The crowd is dying to see you fight. If you would please take your places…"

Athena nodded to the attendant and turned away from Kensou to head to her side of the stage. She was clearly done with the conversation, even though her distraught teammate was not.

Still, Kensou had no choice but to do the same. He slowly walked over to his side of the stage. He could barely hear the wild cries of the crowd. They just seemed like background noise to his thoughts. He reached the edge of the stage, having walked a little further than he was supposed to. It had probably taken him nearly a full minute to get over there, not that he cared.

He turned his head just enough to see Athena on the other side of the stage, waving to her fans in the crowd, even though her usual radiant smile was missing from her face. Normally, catching a glimpse of her like this would be a happy moment. But Kensou only felt anger and bitterness; both directed at Athena.

Maybe he was to blame. She had tried to maintain their friendship. But on the other hand, to place his love for her on the same level as her fans just… infuriated him.

And that was why Kensou didn't stop. He didn't turn to face Athena or the crowds. He kept walking, pushing one of the security guards out of his way so he could get by. The stunned voice of the announcer echoed in his ears.

"Wha-? It looks like Athena Asamiya's opponent is leaving the ring! Is Sie Kensou forfeiting the match, even though we all looked forward to this fight with such enthusiasm?"

Looked like Kensou was disappointing a lot of KOF fans. He didn't care at this point. He couldn't fight Athena the way he was feeling now. His unbridled fury at this whole situation probably would've led him to hurt her. And even if that wasn't the case, he didn't really want to see or talk with her either. Forfeiting was for the best… even though it forced him to listen to the jeers and disappointed cries of the crowd as he made his inglorious exit.

* * *

What a shame it was that Kensou wasn't old enough to drink. Since that was the case, he had nothing to take his mind off of the crushing blow he had received a few hours ago. All he could do was wander around London's evening streets in hopes of finding a distraction. It would be a long time yet before he returned to the hotel their team had been provided by KOFXIII's mysterious sponsors.

A flock of London's infamous pigeons hopped around Kensou's feet as he walked into some generic looking park. The birds were so used to human presence that they weren't frightened in the least.

Despite the fact that Kensou was hoping to distract himself out here, nothing in the city caught his attention. He was so deep in a depressing mire of thoughts that everything else was blocked out; everything except a faint giggle coming from the distance. One that Kensou recognized all too easily.

His morality told him that he really shouldn't spy on anyone. But his brain told him that he really didn't care about morality right now. It didn't take long for Kensou to find the source of the sound. On one of the dirt paths in the park, sitting on a stone bench, were two people. One girl that Kensou knew right off the bat by her figure, and some man that he couldn't recognize in the dark.

Kensou hid behind a tree, and slid down it into a sitting position, content with just hearing what was transpiring. Unfortunately, Kensou missed a few words whenever someone spoke softly.

"…eally didn't have to come out here, Shingo. You need to rest…"

"Come on… a broken arm and a few bru… wouldn't keep me from seeing you!"

…why was Kensou even listening to this? It only buried the daggers in his heart even deeper.

Athena giggled again. She sounded happy.

"So reckless…what am I going to do with you?"

"You could kiss me. That might-"

Shingo's request was abruptly cut off… probably because the demands were met.

"So? Feel any less reckless now?"

"Aha… not really. Actually, I think I might be so bold as to ask for another one…"

So their relationship had already progressed this far? How long had it been like this?

Shingo's voice cut through the silence of the night again.

"Congratulations on today's match by the way. An easy victory, huh?"

Athena's voice had a notable drop in tone.

"Uh…yeah… thank you. But I don't really feel like I deserve congratulations."

"Why did Kensou forfeit anyways? He's not one to turn down a fight…"

"…do you mind if we talk about something else, Shingo? I just…I'd really appreciate it."

"Sure, sure… I won't pry… let's just enjoy this night out. I missed you… and I love you, Athena."

"I do too Shingo. I love you too."

Kensou had heard enough. But he couldn't go anywhere. His body wouldn't let him. He couldn't get past the words that he had wanted said to him; said to someone else. He stayed there all night, hours after Athena and her lover had left. He didn't sleep a wink, but instead fell further and further into despair and anger. How could he have been so foolish…? How could he have failed so miserably… to accomplish the only thing in life that he truly wished for?

* * *

**And…devastating friend zone! But even worse than that, Athena puts Kensou's affection on the same level as her fans! What an insult to a man's true feelings!**

**Anyway, I can't remember the name of the reviewer who had the idea for this chapter, and I can't look him up because I'm in the car and on the road. Anyway, as a special treat for him, Shingo is the secret lover… because I know that was a pairing he supported.**

**Anyway, these relationship troubles will definitely continue in future chapters!**

**As a little side note, does anyone have an idea for an Ash chapter that puts him with someone else besides Shen, Duo Lon, and Elisabeth? But uh, no Yaoi, please.**


	8. K' & Kula

**Kula x K'**

**Alright, I know I tortured you guys by interrupting the predicament between these two distraught characters, but fortunately, I only decided to let there be a one chapter break! So now we can get back to it! On another note, this story is starting to pick up readers quickly, but there have only been four to six guys who have given me any feedback. Never forget that your opinion is always important to me! Like I said, the last chapter was the idea of a reader, so feel free to give me your ideas as well!**

**When we last left these two, K' had been a total dumbass (as the princess put it herself) and made Kula cry, which is absolutely unforgivable! How is he going to fix his mistake? And will Kula forgive him anyway?**

* * *

K' weaved in-between the handful of pedestrians that were out in the streets this late in the evening. Quite a few of them gave him odd looks, but then again, he was an odd person. The unusual object in his grasp probably didn't help either. The more K' looked at Kula's gift, the more he realized just how much work she had put into it. He had definitely screwed up big time.

The ice cream shop wasn't too far away; it was a Cold Slab that had been opened by some American corporation a few months ago, and had since replaced Baskin Robins as Kula's favorite place. If he kept up his brisk pace, he would arrive at his destination in no time.

It was hard for K' to focus on where he was walking, as his attention was repeatedly drawn to Kula's present for him. It was intricate, complex, beautiful… he couldn't really think of a reason for why he hadn't accepted it when it was offered to him.

With his focus on the object, K' subconsciously moved throughout the streets and crosswalks. Before he knew it, he had arrived at where he knew Kula would be: although she was still in a strange place.

Outside of the Cold Slab was a large pillar of ice, with an employee at the bottom, and a cyan haired, cross-legged girl with a tub of ice cream sulking on top.

"Please Miss; you really can't stay up there…"

Kula swallowed a large bite of ice cream, and then jabbed her spoon at the unfortunate man below.

"I'm not coming down! Leave me alone!"

"B-but-"

K' came up behind the young man trying to talk down Kula and her dangerous spoon.

"I'll take it from here. Don't waste anymore breath."

The employee almost said no, but K's intimidating presence convinced him to let someone else take charge. The man decided to return to his manager within the store and try to explain the crazy situation outside.

K' looked up to Kula, who was making extra sure to turn her crimson eyes elsewhere.

"Get down from there, Kula. A klutz like you is going to slip and fall."

Kula stuffed another scoop of vanilla ice cream into her mouth. "Mmph. Not that you would care. Go away; I don't want to talk to you!"

"If you don't come down yourself, I'll just melt this thing and let you sink down."

Kula stuck her tongue out at K' and then turned away from him. It would seem that K' had no choice but to force her down. He readied the orange flames of his right hand, and then held it near Kula's pillar of ice. He made sure to melt it slowly so that the young girl would reach the ground gently.

It was quite a comical sight, as K' watched Kula slowly sink towards the ground with an ever-deepening scowl on her face. But that type of expression didn't belong in Kula. It made K' feel even worse, knowing that he was the one causing her to scowl like that.

When Kula finally sat on nothing less than a puddle of water on the ground, she deigned K' with a look of unhappiness. It only lasted for a moment. Kula got to her feet quickly, and turned away from K' intending to walk away from him.

K' wanted to grab her arm and stop her, but his right hand was still hot, and his left held Kula's present. He'd have to use his voice.

"Hey, stop."

Kula ignored him, continuing to increase the distance between the two.

"…Kula, please. I just want to talk with you."

The more pleasant words seemed to be more effective. Kula stopped in her tracks, turning to face K' with accusing eyes.

"Two minutes, and then I'm going!"

K' tried to think of what he could say. He wasn't a very articulate guy when it came to relationships, and even more so when it came to girls. Not that he was embarrassed or anything, but the only girl he had ever spoken with regularly and at length was Whip.

"…I… alright look, I don't like to see you like this, so-"

"Don't you dare say sorry with those stupid glasses on!"

"What? Why?"

"I'm tired of you always looking at me through them! It's like you never really look at me! You just look in my direction, like I'm just an annoying kid who's just bothering you! So if you're gonna say sorry, take them off!"

K' was surprised to see Kula being so forceful. That kind of attitude was far more associated with his sister…

But he did as she wanted. If it would make her shut up long enough for him to fix this whole situation, then he was more than willing to remove his kickass shades.

"Better?"

Kula's cheeks tinged red just slightly. "Um…yeah… you can keep going now…"

"Alright, so… I'm sorry."

…

"That's it?"

"What else do you want?"

"I want a real apology! That was so fake!"

"T-that was real! What, you expect me to have a damn poem for you or something?!"

Kula's eyes brimmed with tears. "I-I thought… you were going to be m-more…"

K' frowned in defeat; Kula's move was super effective.

"Fine, fine… just give me a minute…"

K' really hadn't planned on saying anything else beyond a sorry, so he was about to wing it big time. He decided that it would probably be best to start with what had started this whole thing. He held up Kula's gift to the light, and once more admired its stunning beauty as he tried to find the words to say.

In his hand was a Chrysanthemum, but not a real one; an almost crystal clear ice sculpture of one, with little tiny unnatural details that Kula had added herself. There were swirls and waves, ribbons of ice and frozen ripples in the carefully made petals that folded just slightly over one another to make a whirlpool of intricately designed beauty.

It would take hours of careful examination to catch every detail on the frozen rendition of the flower. Tiny rivets and curves, gorges and mounds in all the right places… it was no wonder it had taken Kula two days to create such a wonderful masterpiece. The amount of effort she must've put into the project was colossal. And K' had totally ignored all of it.

He moved the flower to a place between himself and Kula.

"Kula, this… this isn't something most guys would ask for. I mean, flowers are usually for girls, but… I'm really glad you gave this to me. I didn't really appreciate it at first, but now I realize how hard you worked just to show your sincere gratitude. I mean, this flower… is truly amazing. I can't even begin to understand why you would work so hard just for me."

K' was running out of words to say, but he knew he still had an apology to make.

"I, uh… don't really know how or why you've put up with me all this time. Diana and Foxy could easily take care of you somewhere else, but you choose to stay with Maxima and I. And I… almost thought I had lost you today. I don't want that to happen. I'm sincerely sorry for treating you so poorly, and I want you to stay with me."

There was a long silence between the two. It almost seemed like Kula wasn't going to forgive him, even after all of the out-of-character talking.

"…was that not enough? You know I don't ever say stuff like that…"

Kula looked at the ground between her feet. "Mmm… I don't know… I think there's one more thing you could do to make it up to me."

"I'm almost afraid to ask…"

"Close your eyes."

"Why-"

"Just do it! And don't open them until I say so!"

K' was reluctant to do something so unpredictable, but at this exact moment, he was willing to do anything to get Kula smiling again.

Unfortunately, he was expecting her to elbow him in the gut. Or blow a gust of icy wind in his face. She was prone to childish attacks like that when she was irritated. Or even worse, she would call on Diana or Foxy to get onto him. Or maybe-

Maybe he would receive another unexpected present. There was a light brush on his lips; so faint that he would have barely felt it at all if it wasn't so extraordinarily soft. He had a pretty good idea what it was, but K's brain was completely scrambled at the moment.

Unfortunately, the contact only lasted for a second. Kula pulled away, and K' still couldn't open his eyes to see her, because she hadn't given him permission yet.

Kula didn't say anything either. So K' had his eyes closed, and Kula was doing… whatever she was doing. Eventually, several minutes passed, and K' finally returned to his normal state of being bored with the situation.

"…can I open my eyes yet?"

…

"Kula?"

…

Despite what Kula had told him to do, K' cracked one eye open to check on what was happening. It was no big surprise to find that Kula had disappeared entirely.

"What the hell…? Little brat…"

* * *

K' had finally made it back home, having assumed that was where Kula had went, but Maxima was already waiting for him, with a cell phone in hand.

"Here, trade me. This is for you; I want to see what Kula gave you."

K' made the swap, careful to leave the ice flower unscathed. "Be gentle with it."

"…did you really just say that?"

"Shut up, Maxima."

K' ignored his cyborg friend and put the received cellphone up to his ear. "Yeah?"

The voice he heard was not one he really wanted to at the moment. Whip never had anything good to say over the phone.

"So guess what I just heard about, lover-boy?"

K' pulled the phone away from his ear and shot a glare of anger at Maxima. "You bastard…"

Maxima held the Chrysanthemum as a shield in front of him. "Careful K', you don't want to break this."

"Total bastard…"

Suddenly, K' felt two hands on his shoulders, and he looked back (or up rather) at two quite tall beautiful guardians.

Foxy's eye twitched dangerously. "Guess what Kula just told us?"

Diana leaned down to K's height as well. "Not only did you make her cry, but you forced her-"

"WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU PEOPLE GETTING THESE IDEAS FROM?!"

* * *

**OK, so obviously there was no declaration of love or anything, but I don't think either K' or Kula would do that at this stage. Anyway, back to Athena and Kensou next, or Mai and Andy? Or neither of those pairs and some less showcased characters like Vanessa or Foxy?**


	9. Robert

**So, I've finally found some in-between time (as in in-between writing my Big 3; CoD, BC, and Exeter) to catch up on another KOF short. Recently I received two suggestions for future chapters; one for Terry and Mary, and another for Leona and the Ikari team. I'm probably going to use both of these suggestions, but not just yet.**

**The only reason I'm going to wait a bit is because one, I don't really have a good Ikari Team idea yet, (I'm still brainstorming) and two, I don't know diddly-squat about Mary. See, I've actually only played KOF13 and KOF2002UM, and since UM doesn't have any actual story in it, I couldn't find out anything about her as a character. I'll have to go to wiki or something to get some info on how she should be portrayed.**

**Just one last question for a future chapter, does anyone know if King has another name? Like her _actual _name? Is it ever mentioned anywhere ever? I know I can wiki that later as well, but I was just wondering if any of you guys knew…**

**Robert x Yuri**

**Robert has taken notice of the diary Yuri keeps with her, and he's dying to know if he's in it somewhere. Just how far will he go to investigate…?**

* * *

The battle cries of training warriors resonated within the wooden walls of the Kyokugen Karate Dojo. Several students were sparring with each other, including that one cool black dude with the Mohawk (who was somehow paired up with that scrawny white kid with the glasses).

Robert watched all of this from the edge of the dojo, fervently plotting all sorts of evil shenanigans. With Takuma busy teaching and Ryo attempting to increase the number of punches he could unleash in three seconds, the coast was completely clear. Yuri was out of the dojo as well, training specifically with Mai and King. No doubt she had left Robert's target completely unprotected…

With stealthy, panther-like movements, Robert crept around the edges of the dojo, attempting to avoid notice by Ryo, who would be eager to spar, and even worse Takuma, who would order him to do one thousand push-ups just for standing around. Fortunately, Robert's sheer determination to not be detected turned him into a master ninja, shaming both Andy and Mai combined. He managed to sneak his way into the back hallways that lead to the actual living area of the dojo, where the Sakazaki family (and obviously himself) resided.

Since everyone was busy out front, the area was totally deserted, giving Robert the perfect opportunity to advance his plans. Still afraid of being detected, the Italian man slunk around the living area, sort of like the Grinch when he was busy stealing Christmas from the Whos (Although Robert couldn't do that awesome snake crawl thing).

Moving on his tiptoes in an increasingly devious fashion, Robert managed to evade the people who weren't even nearby. (He was just that cautious at the moment). He felt a sense of accomplishment as he slid up to Yuri's door. Thanks to Takuma's psychotic parental tendencies, doors weren't allowed to be locked, so Robert had easy access to the forbidden grove.

Creaking the door open as quietly as possible (Even though we all know that doors creak twice as much when you're trying to be sneaky) Robert crept into a personal heaven. On this side of the door, the 'Yuri' side, was everything that she frequently made use of. Robert almost jumped on her bed and frolicked in it, but even he realized that that action would have been a little creepy.

Intently focused on his goal, Robert ignored all of the other wonderful things he could violate (he wouldn't have called it that, but the police would have) in this room. He even managed to, miraculously; ignore a pile of Yuri's clothes in the corner, which included a pair of her panties. Even God was proud of him for resisting the urge to dive into that.

But no; Robert had only one focus. He was here for one thing and one thing only; and it was right atop of Yuri's desk. A thick, rose colored book with nothing but a mere leather strap to protect it from prying eyes.

Of course, in Robert's mind, that didn't include his own. He pounced on the treasure like a lion, ready to tear into it and divulge the secrets of Yuri's crush, who he was absolutely sure was him. But before Robert could employ his signature leather-tearing stalker grapple, he felt an ominous presence materialize behind him.

Afraid that he had possibly been found by Yuri, if she had come back, or even worse Takuma, Robert tried to look innocent as he turned to face the new presence.

It was none other than Ryo, Robert's rival in everything, evidently including this.

"Ryo, what are you doing here?!"

Ryo clenched his fists.

"Moments ago, I was overcome with the brotherly sixth sense that tells me when my sister is in danger! And here I find you about to violate Yuri's privacy!"

Robert scowled.

"It's not violation if no one ever knows about it!"

"No excuses! On my honor as an older brother, I must protect my sister's secrets!"

And so a small little sparring match broke out right there in Yuri's room, further messing up the place and pitting Ryo and Robert in a desperate mano-y-mano struggle.

They both fought with the fury that only men concerned about a girl could, but Robert's obsessive determination could not be swayed.

"ULTIMATE CHUCK NORRIS 'THOU SHALT NOT INTERFERE WITH MY LOVE LIFE' ROUND HOUSE KICK TO THE FACE!"

The sheer awesomeness of this ultimate move imbued with stalker-ish power blinded Ryo, and the attack landed head on, crushing his spirit and soul…

OK, so he was sent flying back and rendered unconscious for a moment, but Robert felt like that amazing kick had done more.

Eager to complete his mission before any other distraction could appear, Robert opened and rapidly flipped through Yuri's diary, in a desperate bid to find something about him.

Finally, he found a page with the header 'Cute Guy I Kinda Like' and he tore into its words ravenously.

"Hmm… hmm… about her size? Guess she misjudged my height… brown hair? Must've been around that time I tried to bleach it… Hmm… Hmm… Wait, what's this? Asian…"

* * *

On the I.S.S. Station orbiting Earth, one of the astronauts was watching the monitors. Suddenly, one of them went off of the charts, detecting an incoming energy…

The entire station shook as it approached, sending the astronauts into a state of panic.

"Am I ever going to see my children again?!"

"I've never found true love!"

"I'm still a virgin!"

"Me too!"

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

As the blast approached, the astronauts huddled together, prepared for the end. In moments, this unbridled wave of energy (and angst) crashed into them.

**"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OO!"**

Fortunately, the wave passed, and everyone was OK. Not a single one of them questioned how sound had moved through space.

"So, you still down for that losing virginity thing?"

* * *

**OK, it was short, but like I said, comedy based chapters usually are. Anyway, maybe I made Robert a bit too creepy and obsessive here, but I thought it was funny, so eh, what the hell.**

**Anyway, now on my profile page is a list of all of my future story plans. It's very detailed, and includes the name, characters involved, fandom it's from, and summary. I've made a poll, so if you're interested in having a say-so in what story you want to see from me next, you can go and vote there. I'd appreciate it, but it's really just an 'if you want to' thing. I'll write them all in years to come, but if I know which one the readers want to see first, it really helps.**


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